If you don't pound on it, it will live a long life. Smokey burnouts, whiplash corners and the like will send it straight back to a wonderful state of entropy.
Run it till it blows, but be forewarned that when it does blow it may well take out the entire housing. I had on in a 78 K-5 that exploded when I dumped the clutch getting back on the highway with one wheel in the dirt and one on the pavement. Treat it OK and it will last a while. Treat it like a red headed stepchild and it will call CPS on you.
Gov-lock is a ****ty version of an Auburn limited slip differential. It tends to eat into the case untill it explodes or at best stops acting like a limited slip. I think Gm started to use them when they went to the 8.5 corperate rearend. I had one in my cop car. Completly wasted. The cops musta loved the burnout. It was an open carrier by the time I got it. The new Eaton Posi I repaced it with however...
The proper way to handle a Gov-Lok: 1. Carefully remove the ***embly from the axle housing. 2. Throw it as far away from the vehicle as possible. 3. Walk up to where it landed, pick it up, and throw it again. 4. Repeat until you can't see your house or the vehicle anymore. 5. Cover ***embly with dirt, leaves and twigs. 6. Return to the vehicle, and install a proper locking or limited-slip differential. Doc.
Now this has got me wondering if the Rear end I installed in my 53 last year has this..its an s-10 4x4 Limited Slip Diff. Is there any way to find out with out opening it up?, before i send it crunching down the road?
Those things last a long time if you treat them right. We use my wife's Avalanche off-road and the thing works well, you just don't want to shock them real hard by spinning up one tire with the other anchored on dry pavement.....ya gotta "ease it in a bit". Those are the Eaton No-Spin type. They use a ton of them in S-10s, Colorado and all the Silverado trucks. I don't think they look much like an Auburn. You can easily tell it's not a regular LSD by raising the vehicle and spinning a wheel by hand, it'll behave just like an open diff.........a regular clutch type posi or limited slip has enough pressure to pull both wheels the same like the axle is locked. All of these designs have their proper place and application, you just need to remember what you have and treat it accordingly.......you can still do a monster burn out with one of these governor-lock units, you just have to start a bit slowly....let 'er lock......then hammer it until your tires melt (if you really must do that sort of thing).
Based on what I have now read on the internet this is clearly the best approach, HOWEVER, it is still in working order, leaving it in place costs me nothing, and my own lazyness is wispering in my ear to run it till it blows. If I could pick up a good used LS or Posi unit, I would pop it in there, but..don't want to spend the cash on a new aftermarket unit right now.
i had one in my malibu wagon (before the mini tub job) ... broke it pulling into my drive way.... you can beat the hell out of them in the water.....just roll out so as not to hit the tires on the dry pavement....i have a coouple buddys that ran them in s10's....both were 11.00 / teen trucks....running 3.42 and 3.73 rears.... with 9" slicks... brandon
Are they like Alfa Romeo LSDs, with the spider(?) shafts riding up a ramp under load, wedging a clutch-type affair to prevent slippage? I know that the Alfa ones act like a non-locking diff when just jacked up.
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